Kincaid's Battery eBook

“Send him here!” The commander’s
eye came back to Irby: “Old man, how long
have you had this?”

“About an hour.”

“Oh, my stars, Adolphe, you should have told
me!”

It was a fair sight, though maddening to Flora yonder
by the glass case, to see the two cousins standing
eye to eye, Hilary’s brow dark with splendid
concern while without a glance at Anna he passed her
the despatch and she read it.

“Steve,” he said, as the Mandeville pair
pressed up, “look at that! boots-and-saddles!
now! to-night! for you and Adolphe and me! Yes,
Charlie, and you; go, get your things and put Jerry
on the train with mine.”

The boy’s partner was Victorine. Before
she could gasp he had kissed her. Amid a laugh
that stopped half the dance he waved one farewell to
sister, grandmother and all and sprang away. “Dance
on, fellows,” called Hilary, “this means
only that I’m going with you.” The
lads cheered and the dance revived.

Their captain turned: “Miss Flora, I promised
your brother he should go whenever—­”

“But me al-so you promised!” she
interrupted, and a fair sight also, grievous to Irby,
startling to Anna, were this pair, standing eye to
eye.

“As likewise my wive to me!” said the
swelling Mandeville, openly caressing the tearful
Constance. “Wive to ’usband,”
he declaimed, “sizter to brother—­”
But his audience was lost. Hilary was speaking
softly to Anna. She was very pale. The throng
drew away. You could see that he was asking if
she only could in no extremity come to him. His
words were inaudible, but any one who had ever loved
could read them. And now evidently he proposed
something. There was ardor in his eye—­ardor
and enterprise. She murmured a response.
He snatched out his watch.

“Just time,” he was heard to say,
“time enough by soldier’s measure!”
His speech grew plainer: “The law’s
right for me to call and for you to come, that’s
all we want. What frightens you?”

“Nothing,” she said, and smiled.
“I only feared there wasn’t time.”

The lover faced his cousin so abruptly that all started
and laughed, while Anna turned to her kindred, as
red as a rose. “Adolphe,” cried he,
“I’m going for my marriage license.
While I’m getting it, will you—?”

Irby went redder than Anna. “You can’t
get it at this hour!” he said. His eyes
sought Flora, but she was hurriedly conferring with
her grandmother.

Hilary laughed: “You’ll see.
I fixed all that a week ago. Will you get the
minister?”

“Why, Hilary, this is—­”

“Yass!” piped Madame, “he’ll
obtain him!”

The plaudits of the dancers, who once more had stopped,
were loud. Flora’s glance went over to
Irby, and he said, “Why, yes, Hilary, if you—­why,
of course I will.” There was more applause.